Pesticide use in United States

United States: Pesticide use was 429,501 tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
429,501 tonnes
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
2nd
of 211 countries
All-time high
457,385 tonnes
in 2018
All-time low
358,338 tonnes
in 2009
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Pesticide use in United States, 1990–2023

0100.0k200.0k300.0k400.0k500.0k1990200620231990: 400.5k tonnes1991: 395.1k tonnes1992: 401.9k tonnes1993: 390.5k tonnes1994: 425.9k tonnes1995: 423.2k tonnes1996: 433.2k tonnes1997: 431.8k tonnes1998: 424.6k tonnes1999: 433.6k tonnes2000: 430.0k tonnes2001: 411.4k tonnes2002: 413.3k tonnes2003: 407.1k tonnes2004: 418.0k tonnes2005: 409.7k tonnes2006: 392.8k tonnes2007: 400.1k tonnes2008: 379.2k tonnes2009: 358.3k tonnes2010: 374.8k tonnes2011: 391.3k tonnes2012: 407.8k tonnes2013: 418.7k tonnes2014: 413.1k tonnes2015: 423.5k tonnes2016: 451.7k tonnes2017: 449.7k tonnes2018: 457.4k tonnes2019: 444.2k tonnes2020: 439.6k tonnes2021: 438.1k tonnes2022: 427.2k tonnes2023: 429.5k tonnes

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

The most recent figure for pesticide use in United States is 429,501 tonnes, measured in 2023.

That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 2.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, pesticide use in United States peaked at 457,385 tonnes in 2018 and was at its lowest, 358,338 tonnes, in 2009.

That places United States 2nd out of 211 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 416,035 tonnes 390,543 tonnes 433,634 tonnes 10
2000s 401,996 tonnes 358,338 tonnes 430,005 tonnes 10
2010s 423,218 tonnes 374,818 tonnes 457,385 tonnes 10
2020s 433,603 tonnes 427,232 tonnes 439,593 tonnes 4

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 1 Brazil 800,652 tonnes compare
  2. 3 Indonesia 294,935 tonnes compare
  3. 4 Argentina 262,507 tonnes compare
  4. 5 China 217,996 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 211 places →

More reference data data for United States

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is pesticide use in United States?
Pesticide use in United States was 429,501 tonnes in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest pesticide use recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 457,385 tonnes in 2018.
What is the lowest pesticide use recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 358,338 tonnes in 2009.
How does United States rank for pesticide use?
United States ranks 2nd out of 211 countries with data for 2023.
Is pesticide use rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United States data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Pesticide use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Pesticide use
Unit
tonnes
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
211 places, 7,015 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Total pesticide use measured in tonnes of pesticide consumption per year.